You are an exile. Which means, you’re not home. Your life here on earth will be uncomfortable, it will be hard. Why?
Because we’re not home. Ever since sin entered the world, the world’s not as it should be. Instead of obeying God, serving others and taking care of our planet, we reject God, use people and exploit the planet. As a result of our sin, our world was damaged. Adam and Eve were banished from the garden. And ever since, we’ve been exiles.
That’s why the world just doesn’t feel right. That’s why your life isn’t totally fulfilling. You and I are exiles. We’re on our way home but we’re pilgrims on a journey. And the truth is, you and I will never face suffering well, until we face the truth that we are not home.
Our culture is heavily shaped by the Enlightenment. In other words, we believe that we are good and that the human race is improving. That every generation should have a better life than the previous one. That’s why the pandemic is so hard to accept. That’s why we keep asking, When are we going back to “normal”?
We think the normal life is comfortable and pain-free. But Pastor Tim Keller reminds us that this isn’t biblical thinking. He says,
“We want the storyline of our lives to go from strength to strength, from success to success and end happily ever after. But throughout the Bible, we see something completely different – a persistent narrative pattern of life through death and triumph through weakness that reveals how God works in history and in our lives.” (Tim Keller)
